NorthWestern Energy Group (NWE) Competitors

NorthWestern Energy Group (NYSE:NWE) and Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability, institutional ownership and risk.

Which has more volatility and risk, NWE or LNT?

NorthWestern Energy Group has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alliant Energy has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is NWE or LNT more profitable?

Alliant Energy has a net margin of 18.26% compared to NorthWestern Energy Group's net margin of 14.81%. Alliant Energy's return on equity of 12.01% beat NorthWestern Energy Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NorthWestern Energy Group	14.81%	7.40%	2.68%
Alliant Energy	18.26%	12.01%	3.71%

Does the media prefer NWE or LNT?

In the previous week, Alliant Energy had 1 more articles in the media than NorthWestern Energy Group. MarketBeat recorded 12 mentions for Alliant Energy and 11 mentions for NorthWestern Energy Group. NorthWestern Energy Group's average media sentiment score of 1.49 beat Alliant Energy's score of 1.26 indicating that NorthWestern Energy Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
NorthWestern Energy Group	8 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Alliant Energy	8 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is NWE or LNT a better dividend stock?

NorthWestern Energy Group pays an annual dividend of $2.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Alliant Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. NorthWestern Energy Group pays out 68.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alliant Energy pays out 70.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. NorthWestern Energy Group has increased its dividend for 21 consecutive years and Alliant Energy has increased its dividend for 22 consecutive years. NorthWestern Energy Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts prefer NWE or LNT?

NorthWestern Energy Group currently has a consensus target price of $60.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.23%. Alliant Energy has a consensus target price of $64.23, indicating a potential upside of 3.03%. Given NorthWestern Energy Group's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe NorthWestern Energy Group is more favorable than Alliant Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NorthWestern Energy Group	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Alliant Energy	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.36

Which has better valuation & earnings, NWE or LNT?

Alliant Energy has higher revenue and earnings than NorthWestern Energy Group. NorthWestern Energy Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alliant Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NorthWestern Energy Group	$1.51B	2.11	$224.11M	$3.84	13.44
Alliant Energy	$3.98B	4.02	$690M	$2.90	21.50

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of NWE or LNT?

96.1% of NorthWestern Energy Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.9% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of NorthWestern Energy Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Alliant Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Alliant Energy beats NorthWestern Energy Group on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.